Spyro: Dangerous Depths
by LegendDragon14
Summary: When Spyro mysteriously awakens in a strange new world, he soon discovers that the ocean planet he's now stranded on is infested not only with an array of deadly predators but a threat much greater then he's ever seen. Can Spyro survive the world of Subnautica?
1. Rude Awakening

"Spyro...?" a gentle voice called to him. "Spyro...?"

He slowly opened his weary eyes, seeing Cynder standing before him. He smiled sleepily and lifted his head.

Cynder returned his smile with one of her own. She was very beautiful already, and her smile made her even more so.

"Not a bad sight to wake up to..." Spyro thought aloud as he admired her.

She chuckled and her smile grew. "Good morning to you too."

Spyro stood up groggily and followed Cynder to the edge of the cliff they'd spent the night on, both dragons gazing at the breath-taking sunrise.

They had defeated Malefor and saved the Dragon Realm only a week ago, and had been traveling around freely since.

The thought of returning to Warfang had occurred to them, but they had agreed to take a 'vacation' as Cynder called it, and so they had.

Over the week they spent together, they'd grown much closer. Spyro had to admit, he'd had feelings for Cynder for the longest time, and Cynder admitted she felt the same about him for just as long.

But the three words Cynder said to him following their battle with Malefor broke down emotional barriers, and allowed their relationship to grow.

Spyro looked over at Cynder, and she looked back at him. As their gazes met, Spyro thought about how lucky he was to have her, and how grateful he was that she'd been with him through the trials he faced.

His happy thoughts were suddenly cut off when he lost the ability to breathe. He coughed, water leaking out of his mouth.

He could feel with every inhale water was caught in his windpipes, from nowhere it seemed. His coughing grew more violent, until he abruptly woke up.

He was laying half submerged in water, quickly jerking his head up and out of the water, coughing up the water he had inhaled.

Once he could breathe clearly again, he looked around, taking in his surroundings.

Directly behind him was a massive object. He trudged backwards a few steps through the water and gazed upward, barely able to see the top of the object.

He observed that it appeared to be heavily damaged, portions of it in flames or bent and weathered.

It seemed greatly longer then it was tall, as looking in either direction he couldn't clearly see the object's ends. He could however see large writing on the object's side.

"Starship Aurora..." Spyro read aloud. The words made no sense to him, but he knew Ships were a means of transportation that non-dragon folk sometimes used to cross large bodies of water.

But those were typically constructed from wood and rope, this object seemed to be made of some sort of metal, and was much larger then any ship he'd ever seen.

It's colossal size reminded him of the Destroyer, and he wondered if this object could possibly be larger then the monster that nearly ended the world.

A small chirp followed by a splash broke his chain of thought, as he whipped around to the origin of the sounds, seeing a few small fish dart past him.

He fully turned to look behind him, deciding to abandon examining the Ship to examine the rest of his surroundings. It was immediately apparent he was in an unfamiliar area.

Ocean stretched as far as he could see in any direction. He was on a small patch of sand that had piled up next to the massive ship, Spyro guessed the current had a hand in it's creation.

The water itself was crystal clear, allowing him to see blurry figures of small fish swimming around. Suddenly something caught his eye, a plume of smoke coming from a smaller object bobbing in the tides a few yards away.

It was dark grey, meaning the fire was still burning. He dove off his small sandy perch, paddling over to the object.

It was mostly white, metal like the Ship, and had a number 5 on its side along with a few rungs that made a ladder.

Spyro climbed to the top of the object, peering through a hole in its roof. A fire indeed blazed inside, and Spyro noticed burn marks much older then this fire was.

Clearly someone had tried to extinguish the flames, doing a poor job of it. Spyro waved a paw and the flames extinguished themselves instantly as he climbed inside the object.

It was a small room inside the object, with two chairs built into the walls. Spyro quickly noticed a faint blue light coming from a charred area of the room, finding a rectangular hatch and opening it.

Inside was a few strange slabs of glass, each with a narrow sliver of metal attached to one side. He picked one up and examined it, using his wing to dust off flakes of char that had clung to the glass.

At his touch the glass slab began to glow bright blue, several shapes and images appearing within the glass and swirling around.

Spyro watched the shapes, mesmerized, until a voice came from the object.

"Initializing PDA in Emergency Mode."

Spyro jumped at the voice, completely caught off guard, nearly dropping the Object.

The voice continued, as the shapes in the glass disappeared and a grid pattern appeared.

"This program will catalogue your inventory, record essential information, and issue survival advice as necessary. PDA has one directive, to keep you alive in a hostile world. Good Luck."

"Uh... Thanks...?" Spyro replied softly. The fact that a piece of glass had just spoken to him was indeed quite surprising, but seeing as it had basically offered to help him, and help was the primary resource he desperately needed right about now...

"Um... Where am I? What is this place?" He asked, partly not expecting a response. But against what he expected, the images in the glass changed to show a planet.

"Currently, you are on Planet 4546B, an un-colonized Ocean Planet." the voice answered his question.

"Ocean Planet?" Spyro repeated. This had to mean that the entire planet he was on was one big ocean, which meant not only was he not in the Dragon Realm, but on a totally different planet. That was a lot to take in.

The mental realization of this crisis was cut short by a sharp pain in his wrist. He yelled out in pain and surprise, looking down to see the PDA had extended a tiny mechanical arm and stabbed a tiny, rounded needle into his wrist.

"Vital Signs indicate severe dehydration and minor abrasions. Fluid intake highly recommended." The PDA reported, retracting its arm.

"Guess I am a bit thirsty..." Spyro mumbled, rubbing his wrist. After searching the room for a couple minutes, he found a plastic container half full of water, which he promptly guzzled.

In the same search he found a mask looking object with two small glass panes he guessed were meant for seeing through, along with a squishy rectangular block the PDA had identified as a 'Nutrient Block', and a backpack the PDA told him was water tight.

He put the Nutrient Block and the almost empty water container into the backpack and shoved it to the side. The PDA had told him about different 'essential materials' that were nearby.

Seeing as it seemed to be a bit more of a survival expert then Spyro was, he decided it would be best to followed its lead. Following the PDA's instructions, Spyro flicked a tiny switch on the side of the Dive Mask and let it scan his face.

Soon after it morphed to fit around his face, with spare room to allow him to speak comfortably, as it had a built in radio that linked to the PDA, allowing them to communicate.

Then he was ready, or as ready as he possibly could be, as he climbed back out, to the top of the Life Pod, staring down at the water below.

"Relax, " he told himself, "Your only about to blindly follow a talking piece of glass into an unknown ocean planet world. What's the worst that could happen?"

He almost had to laugh at that thought, What **was** the worst thing that could happen?

He chuckled nervously as he slipped the newly shaped mask on and once again glanced down at the water, wondering what he would find down there.


	2. Deep Breath

The water was cool as it rushed over his scales. The particle cloud created upon his entry slowly dissipated, as smaller fish scattered at his sudden presence.

Spyro's dive only took him down a few feet below the surface, but still at this shallow depth vibrant sea life surrounded him.

He had gotten a blurry glance under the surface as he paddled out to the Life Pod, but now with his Diving Mask he could see the aquatic world clearly.

Spyro spun in slow, gradual circles as he gaped in awe at the world before him. It truly was an incredible sight to behold, each creature and plant had their own unique color of bioluminescence, making the whole ecosystem a beautiful display of bright colors.

One of the smaller fish he'd seen before swam directly in front of him, glancing at him with its large orange eye. The PDA informed Spyro that this fish was called a Peeper, and was one of the best choices for a food source.

Spyro was no stranger to eating fish, in fact his favorite meal, if he had to pick just one, would be fresh Salmon. Following the PDA's advice, he quickly used his wings to lunge forward through the water, snatching the peeper as it tried to dart away.

"Oxygen!" the PDA alerted him quite suddenly. Spyro had been so caught up in this amazing new world he'd forgotten he wasn't a Sea Dragon, he needed air.

He circled back to face the surface and lunged forward again, breaching the surface and taking a few gasps of air. A dragon's lung capacity was far greater then most other races, but still it didn't last forever.

The Peeper flopped around, struggling within Spyro's grasp. He took a second to examine the odd looking creature before stuffing it into his backpack, taking a deep breath, and re-submerging.

The PDA almost immediately spoke up, "Essential materials nearby."

Several white triangles appeared in Spyro's vision, startling him a bit. Once he realized the shapes were on his Mask lenses, he looked closely at them, noticing each of them was pointing out an outcrop in rocks and coral.

He followed instructions, swimming down to one of the outcrops and digging it out. Concealed in the outcrop was a lump of copper, which he grabbed before it could sink too far.

He managed to make it to another outcrop and dig out a piece of lead before he needed to re-surface for a breath.

He repeated this process of material gathering, plucking a few violet colored mushrooms from the reef as well, until the PDA declared he had enough materials.

He then grabbed a few more Peepers, stuffing them into the backpack with everything else he'd gathered, and paddled back to the Life Pod.

Following the PDA's suggestions, Spyro used the Life Pod's fabricator to create a few tools, firstly a Survival Knife, and an O2 Tank, as well as Medical Kits and a Sea Glide.

Lastly, he cooked the Peepers he'd caught, eating one and storing the rest in his backpack.

"Best course of action is to Repair the Communications Relay to receive possible Broadcasts or Messages, or to send out Emergency Broadcast." The PDA spoke up.

Spyro considered this. He only understood about half of what the PDA had said, but he did understand that it was a good idea to have the ability to send or receive Emergency messages.

Maybe there were other people out there that could help him. It was a stretch, but it was a chance worth taking. Anything that could get him even one step closer to getting back to his own world, back to Cynder.

"Ok, how can I fix this thing?" he asked the PDA as he examined the Comms Relay. It had gotten quite a bit of fire damage, but Spyro could tell it had taken a beating before any flames had even touched it.

"The Repair tool is capable of this task." The PDA reported, displaying the materials needed  
to craft the device: two deposits of Salt, a piece of Titanium, and a sample of Cave Sulphur.

Spyro studied the list before slipping his Diving Mask back on and climbing back out of the Life Pod. He already had Titanium, he just needed to find Salt deposits and figure out what Cave Sulphur was.

The PDA must have sensed his confusion, as it displayed an image of a red and white plant and a oval shaped fish of similar color schemes on the lens of Spyro's Dive Mask.

"Cave Sulphur is a raw material that collects in Crashfish Plant growths." It explained.

"What's a Crashfish?" Spyro questioned.

"A fauna type with no nutritional needs or value, that functions as a defense mechanism for the Crashfish Plant flora type. It attacks any threats by swimming directly towards them and rapidly bursting."

"So... Basically kamikaze fish?" Spyro joked.

"Precisely." The PDA agreed.

Having the O2 Tank allowed Spyro to explore longer with less breaks for air, and the Sea Glide allowed him to explore much faster, though carrying an Oxygen tank and a backpack full of supplies on his back and trying to swim was difficult.

Soon he found a few Salt Deposits, on the edge of the Kelp Forest. He carefully checked his surroundings, knowing full well what could reside within the Kelp.

Stalkers. Having witnessed Stalkers' behavior before, he hoped he wouldn't have to get too close to one of them. He scooped up one of the salt deposits and tossed it into his backpack, double-checking around him.

One Stalker caught his sight, though it was far away and thrashing a chunk of scrap metal around, not noticing the Purple Dragon.

Spyro took advantage of the calm moment and scooped up a second Salt deposit, tossing it in his backpack as well and swimming backwards, keeping a close eye on the Stalker to make sure it didn't pursue.

Once he was a safe distance away, he continued his search for supplies, finding a small trench. Upon investigating the trench, the PDA located a Crashfish Plant, pointing it out to Spyro.

The Purple Dragon cautiously approached the Plant and, as the PDA described, the Plant opened and a beady, black eye snapped open, a Crashfish growling and emerging from the plant, darting towards Spyro.

He quickly twisted in the water, the Crashfish not able to react as fast and careening past Spyro, exploding a safe distance away. Once the fish was gone, Spyro looked back to the still open plant.

A small pile of orange-red particles lay inside the Plant, which he swam over and retrieved. Having the materials needed, Spyro used the Sea Glide to reach the surface and paddled back to the Life Pod.

Once inside he used the Fabricator to craft the Repair Tool, taking the tool and turning it in his paw. It was a peculiar shaped object upon first glance, but as he examined it the shape started making a little more sense.

The PDA gave him instructions on how to use the gadget, which were quite simple. All the Dragon needed to do was squeeze a small trigger and the repair tool did all the work. This fact was a relief to Spyro.

He soon had the Comms Relay fully repaired. He took a second to think of what to say, realizing that there could be any number of people that would hear what he was about to say, or there could be no one.

Finally he pressed a small red button, as the PDA instructed, and spoke his message, making it all up as he went along.

"Um... h-Hello? Is anyone out there? I'm stranded, just outside the wreckage of Starship Aurora. Anyone out there that could lend me a hand here?"

He released the button, and a few beeps and blips later his message was broadcast. He then lay down, exhausted from all the swimming he'd done.

He wasn't expecting any response to his message, but waited for one anyway. Nearly three hours passed, the sun disappearing into a dark, cool night.

Spyro had almost fallen asleep when the Comms Relay chirped suddenly. He sat up and looked at the device.

"Receiving response message from unknown location." the Relay reported. Spyro listened closely as a soft, terrified female voice came from the device, almost drowned out by static.

"H-hello...? Are you still listening...?" The voice sounded strikingly familiar, in a way that made Spyro's heart skip a beat.

"Please... tell me someone is hearing this! I... I don't know where I am, but I'm stranded as well." the voice continued.

 _'No... It couldn't be... It-it couldn't be...!'_ Spyro thought to himself, recognizing the voice.

"Hello...? Are... Are you still there?" it continued.

 _'Cynder?'_


	3. Fond Memories

"So you think so?"

"Huh?" Cynder snapped out of her gazing and looked to Spyro, seeing he was awaiting an answer.

She smiled sheepishly as he chuckled, probably seeing her facial expression and realizing she hadn't been paying attention to his question.

"Do you think anyone will miss us?" the Purple Dragon re-asked his question with a smile.

"Oh, " she chuckled as well, suddenly forgetting what had distracted her from the conversation.

"Well, I don't know... maybe?" she answered. "I know Sparks would miss you."

"Yeah, he probably would." Spyro replied, looking back out to the sunset.

Cynder could tell he was thinking about something, looking out at the bright orange sky as well.

They had stopped on a tiny patch of land in the middle of a large lake, and were planning to spend the night there.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him, studying the water below them.

"What? Oh... um..." he seemed to take a second to continue thinking before finishing his response. "A few things." he said softly.

"Like...?" Cynder coaxed an answer from him, swirling her paw in the cool water in front of them.

"The past... The future..." Spyro replied vaguely, visually concerned about his thoughts.

Cynder glanced down at the shimmering lake, an idea coming to mind.

She quickly snapped her paw out of the water, spraying the preoccupied Purple Dragon.

Spyro jumped as the cool water hit his face, abandoning his thoughts to look to Cynder.

The Dragoness couldn't help snickering playfully at his reaction, knowing full well how cold the water was compared to the humid air.

"Welcome back to the Present." she said with a smile.

Spyro chuckled in reply, lowering his wing into the water and flicking a small wave of water back at Cynder, who shielded herself with her wings.

Regardless of her attempt, Cynder was doused with the cold water, letting out a small shriek of protest before shoving Spyro off their little island, into the moonlight lake.

The Purple Dragon quickly surfaced, shivering at the sudden drop in temperature. He attempted to frown, but laughter broke through instantly.

"How's the water?" Cynder asked, laughing as well.

A devilish smirk came over Spyro's face as he paddled back over to Cynder, "Would you like to find out?" he asked.

Cynder tried to back away, but Spyro was faster as he yanked her into the water with him.

* * *

Suddenly everything went black, all feeling left him.

"Here..." an unfamiliar voice called to him. "Here... To me..."

Just like that he woke from his slumber, sighing sleepily. Looking up, he noticed it was still nighttime, and groaned. Having too many thoughts swarming his mind to even attempt sleeping any longer, he sat up and glanced to the Comms Relay.

After he heard Cynder's voice, he tried to respond, but got nothing back but static. The sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance of her voice made him question whether it really was her or not.

Whether there was a voice at all, or if it was just in his mind, the figment of his loneliness and the stress of his situation. Part of him wished it really was Cynder, having her there with him would make the whole situation much easier to handle.

But a bigger part of him wished it really was just his mind playing tricks on him. He missed Cynder a great deal, but he wouldn't wish his situation on anyone, let alone her.

One of the positive thoughts he had left was thinking Cynder was safe and sound, still by the Lake and trying to find him. Even if she never could, she'd be safe. He closed his eyes and allowed that thought to take over, imagining her walking the shore of the lake as the sun rose behind her.

* * *

A loud bang had him jump awake. The whole Lifepod shook for a few moments. It was day, so he had gotten some sleep, to his own relief. Before he could even make a move another bang launched him off his make-shift bed, sending him sprawling to the floor.

Groaning in pain, he managed to crawl over to the floor hatch, peering through the window as a large, white and red snake like creature passed by. The Lifepod was under attack, from something big, and angry.

"Oh, come on..." he muttered, attempting to stand up and reaching for the backpack. Just then the Lifepod was rammed again, this time tilting on its side, sending Spyro and everything inside tumbling around.

As the Lifepod self-corrected, Spyro managed to grab the backpack and sling it around his shoulder, before taking hold of the ladder and bracing as the Lifepod was hit again. The Lifepod skidded before drifting to a stop.

As soon as the Pod stopped swaying, he quickly climbed up the ladder and out the roof, looking out at his attacker.

The creatures head alone was nearly the size of the Pod, a long snake like body curved through the waves as it charged the Pod again.

The Pod lurched from the impact, throwing the Purple Dragon into the water below.

Without his mask on, Spyro's vision was reduced to blurry clouds of color. Knowing the attacking creature was very near, he scrambled for the surface.

As soon as his eyes were above water he scanned the surface, catching the creature snaking along mere yards away from him.

Its large head turned, shortly followed by the rest of its body as it circled around, heading right for him.

Spyro frantically swam for the Pod, as the creature let out a raspy howl that cut through the water like the blade of a knife.

He grabbed hold of the ladder and scrambled out of the water, the creature missing him by inches but ramming the pod again.

Spyro clung to the ladder with all his strength as the pod flipped upside down, plunging him back into the water.

He quickly climbed the side of the pod, onto the base of the pod. The creature circled him, howling threateningly.

Spyro watched the massive creature, creating a long spike of ice and taking aim.

As the creature's head passed by, he sent the spike flying at it. The creature howled in pain as the ice spike sank into its pitch black eye.

Spyro readied another spike, but the creature whipped it's head into the pod. The impact knocked Spyro head first into the waves again.

The creature, visually very upset, took hold of the pod with its pincers. Spyro frantically swam to the side, avoiding the charging creature.

The wakes kept him spiraling through the water for a couple yards. Finally managing to stop, he put on his mask and watched as the creature violently shook and jostled the pod around.

His safe haven was destroyed, resources lost, and options gone.


	4. The Aurora

Spyro drifted in the waves, closely observing the large serpentine creature rip the Lifepod to pieces and toss it aside.

The creature then circled the area a few times, presumably searching for Spyro, before howling once more and swimming away, luckily a different direction then Spyro was drifting.

He waited a few moments, partially to ensure the creature was gone and partially to plan what to do next.

He set his backpack on the Sea Glide and dug out the PDA, hoping It would have some useful advice.

As soon as he pulled It out, It gave him a much needed answer.

"Finding a new shelter has become a high ranking task. The Aurora, although heavily damaged, is equipped with comfortable temporary housing for over 150 passengers." It explained.

"You mean **that** thing?" Spyro questioned, gazing at the massive, ship.

"Correct." The PDA answered, "It is possible that useful resources and stable housing survived the crash intact."

Looking at the damage, it seemed nearly impossible for anything to remain intact through whatever destroyed the ship.

But seeing as he had no other option, he re-packed his backpack and slipped his mask on.

Aiming himself towards the crash site, he dove under the waves, propelled forward by the Sea Glide.

The ship seemed to grow in size as he got closer, soon taking up his whole field of view.

Once he was within throwing distance of the Aurora, he dove deeper and searched for a safe entrance.

He swam along the side for a couple minutes before coming to a giant gap. It appeared as though a large chunk of the ship was blown clean off.

What looked like a walkway had been broken off and partially sunk into the water, creating a large ramp.

Spyro climbed up onto the ruined walkway, waving a paw to extinguish scattered flames that littered the whole section of the ship.

He ascended the now clear path, walking through a tall doorway. It lead to a long hallway that was mostly unscathed.

The PDA had a built in map of the Aurora, and was able to guide him through the many long hallways and large rooms.

It took longer then Spyro imagined, but finally he entered a smaller room the PDA identified as a 'Living Quarters'.

Following the PDA's guidance, he searched through storage lockers, an over-turned bed, a battered desk, and a small closet.

It took him almost 5 minutes to go through everything, yet he only found a sealed bottle half full of water, which he immediately drank most of, and an old, rusty knife.

He gave up his searching and moved across the hallway, to another living quarters.

This one was slightly larger, but had an almost identical layout. However, the bed in this room was still upright, and the room looked nearly untouched as opposed to the rest of the chaotic mess he'd seen so far.

He searched through two lockers standing against one wall, as well as the desk and closet.

He repeated his searching process through four more living quarters along the hallway, still finding nothing useful.

Frustrated, he returned to the second living quarters and collapsed on the large bed.

Exhausted and weary, he let out a long sigh. He was lost.

For the first time in a long time, he had no idea what to do. He was stuck in a problem and had no solution.

Even worse, he still had no idea how he ended up in this situation in the first place.

As he dove deeper into his thoughts and worries, he started to fall asleep. But before he could the PDA suddenly beeped.

"Heat signature detected." It announced.

Spyro jumped up, drowsiness instantly pushed to the side. He took out the PDA, which displayed a red dot moving across the screen.

Something was coming down the hall, right towards him.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Spyro got off the bed, pressing against the wall just inside the doorway.

Within moments, something walked past the doorway.

By studying its physical shape, it appeared to be a human, wearing one of the diving suits Spyro had seen blueprints for in the PDA's collection.

What caught Spyro's attention was the strange object the human was holding.

He had seen it as well in the PDA's blueprints, labelled 'Stasis Rifle'.

He had absolutely no idea what it was, but the human's offensive mannerism gave him a good idea.

It was a weapon, which combined with the likelihood of the human being much more experienced in this environment weighed the probable outcomes of direct combat heavily against him.

Spyro decided the best course of action would be stealth.

If he could manage to avoid detection long enough to make it down the hallway, he could then move to another area of the massive ship to continue scavenging for supplies.

With a plan set, he slowly stepped forward, peering out into the hallway. The human had walked right past him, currently stalking down the hall away from Spyro.

It was almost funny that this human was trying so hard to go unnoticed, when in fact they were the ones being avoided.

Spyro glanced the other way, the Hall stretched for a good distance with no doors or even an alcove.

He would have to wait for a huge window of time in order to make it out without being detected.

He quickly looked back, the human still moving slowly down the Hall, pointing the Stasis Rifle around as if their only eye was in the barrel.

Spyro watched as they approached one of the rooms, peering in the doorway for about a minute before finally stepping inside.

Taking the opening, Spyro carefully stepped out into the hallway.

Each move he made slow and careful, stalking backwards to keep an eye on the doorway.

He made a quick glance behind him, checking the distance to his exit, then looked back down the hall.

He could make a run for it, but the question lingered, was he fast enough to round the corner before the Human returned to the hallway and spotted him?

Only one way to find out.


	5. Enemy Unknown

Things did not go according to plan.

As Spyro planned his retreat, the human reappeared, stepping out into the hallway.

Spyro froze.

Thankfully the human had turned to the opposite end of the hall then Spyro, but had not moved further.

 _'What are they doing?'_

Were they surveying the Hall first before moving forward, or were they contemplating returning from whence they came?

Spyro held his breath, standing still as a stone statue, but ready to react.

The human glanced around the hall, which didn't carry on much further then the last pair of rooms.

 _'Now or never.'_

Spyro thought to himself.

He slowly stalked backward, one step at a time.

The human finally started moving, slowly traveling away from Spyro.

CLINK

Both froze in place at the sound.

Spyro had unknowingly kicked over a small metal canister, the sound echoing through the quiet ship.

The human spun around, not even aiming before firing the Stasis Rifle.

A beam of blue light shot down the hall, Spyro ducking to the side to miss it by mere inches.

The rifle fired again, Spyro rolling out of its path and pivoting to enact his escape plan.

He sprinted down the hall full speed, hearing the rifle fire and ducking into a slide, the beam passing over him as he continued sprinting without even slightly losing speed.

Quickly approaching the end of the hall, he reached out and grabbed the corner of the wall, using it to skate around the corner.

He kept running, hearing the human chasing after him.

He skidded and made a sharp turn into another hallway, rapidly searching for an escape.

Spying a narrow gap in the damaged walkway above, he leaped to the side and wall jumped upwards, clinging to the walkway and scrambling up.

He glanced down to see the human enter the room and look up to where he now was.

"Time to go..." He mumbled to himself, running along the walkway as the human started climbing up after him.

Spotting a vent ahead, he slid to a stop and yanked the grate off, crawling in and replacing the grate, then using his Fire element to heat the edges of the grate, basically welding it to the wall.

With the threat sealed off, he crawled through the cramped vent shafts, completely lost.

He had no idea where he was going, only thinking about putting as much distance between him and the human as he could.

After what seemed like hours of crawling through the dark vent shafts, he deemed the threat far gone.

He stopped to rest for a few minutes, catching his breath.

He took out the PDA, which still displayed a map of the Aurora. He was very close to the section of the ship that was missing.

If he could get to the outside, he could simply glide back to the Pod.

He crawled on through the vents until he found a grate, pushing it off and crawling out onto a rickety platform.

Looking around, he confirmed what the PDA had told him. He was at the edge of the broken ship, glad to see the sky again.

Giant flames covered most of the platform, Spyro simply holding out a paw to extinguish the fire in seconds.

He walked up to the edge, looking out and spotting the Pod, planning the trajectory.

All he needed was a short running start to get airborne.

He backed up and spread his wings, mostly just stretching them out.

After securing his pack, he darted forward, lunging off the platform and spreading his wings.

No sooner his rear paws left the platform, he caught sight of a bright blue beam streaking towards him.

He wasn't able to react fast enough, hit in the side by the Stasis Rifle blast and blacking out midair.

* * *

 _"Wake up."_ A soft voice, Cynder's voice called to him. _"Spyro, wake up."_

 _"Come here... to me."_ The unfamiliar voice returned. _"Want to...help you."_

 _"You need to wake up."_ Cynder's voice asserted, sounding concerned.

* * *

Spyro slowly opened one eye, finding himself laying on a metallic platform about half a foot under water.

Glancing around, he noticed the platform he was taking off from high above him.

After being knocked out by the blast, he had fallen all the way down to here, which explained the soreness.

He also noticed the human kneeling a few feet away from him.

He raised his head slowly, seeing the human was searching through his pack.

"You know, where I come from it's not polite to take others' stuff." He said.

The human looked over, clearly taken by surprise. "You can speak?" They questioned, muffled by the mask.

"I try." Spyro joked. "So, my pack?"

The human looked down at the pack then back to Spyro, holding up the PDA, "Where did you get this?"

"The Life Pod out there." Spyro answered, standing up.

"How'd you get past the fire?" They asked. "With your tech?"

"Tech?" Spyro echoed, not understanding the term.

"Like what you did up there," They pointed to the platform above.

Spyro guessed they were referring to his extinguishing the blaze.

For the human to not recognize elemental magic solidified his suspicion that this realm was far different then his own, not just in looks but in civilization as well.

"You've never heard of Elemental Magic?" Spyro questioned.

"Magic?" The human repeated, a tone of disbelief. "Are you kidding?"

"I'm not exactly from here." Spyro explained. "Back home, magic is practiced by pretty much everyone, especially elemental magic."

The human seemed to think for a moment, before speaking, "I'm a ways from home too."

Spyro felt disappointment set in, trying not to let it show in his tone. "You too?"

The human nodded, putting the PDA back in the pack and sliding over to Spyro, who zipped it up and slung it over his shoulder.

The human then reached up and removed their mask.

"The pod might be somewhat stable, but it's not a long term shelter." He stated seriously.

"I take it you have one of these long term shelters?" Spyro infrenced.

"I take it you need one?" The human responded.

"If you don't mind a travel buddy?" Spyro joked.

"I guess working together would help us both. And your... Magic... Could be helpful." He replied.

"Do you use names where you're from?" Spyro asked.

"My name's Lucas." He answered. "You?"

"My friends call me Spyro." The purple dragon responded.


	6. Leaving Safety

Uncanny silence.

Up to this point, the area had been teeming with chirping Peepers and bellowing Gasopods, but now there wasn't a single creature to be seen, and the land lay in eerie silence.

Spyro guessed whatever attacked the Pod must have scared everything off.

Not surprising.

Such a beautiful, vibrant setting reduced to an unsettling environment.

The Pod was barely afloat when Spyro had last seen it, by now it had sunk and rested in the sand.

The frame was bent and battered, making the hatch difficult to open.

Once inside, Spyro searched the wreckage, hoping to find at least some of his supplies.

Thankfully, he found the Repair Tool and Survival Knife laying in the sand, but not much else was salvageable.

The Communications Relay was shattered, which was disheartening.

He was still unsure whether he had heard Cynder or not, and now he may not ever find out.

"Reapers are vicious." Lucas commented through the newly installed radio in their dive masks.

"Is that what you call it?" Spyro questioned.

"Yep, Reaper Leviathan." Lucas answered, glancing back at the distant Aurora. "They usually stay near the Crash Site, occasionally out in the Dunes."

"They?" Spyro echoed in a slightly worried tone, "You mean there's more then one of those things floating around out here?"

Lucas looked back and nodded, "Unfortunately so."

"Oh joy..." Spyro mumbled sarcastically as they left the pod behind.

One of many useful tools Lucas had in his possession was an odd transport vessel that he called a Sea Moth.

The Sea Moth allowed them to travel through the water much faster then free swimming, and offered some extent of shelter from potential threats.

The only downside was that the Sea Moth seemed to be intended for one passenger.

It was a bit cramped, but breathing room and personal space were small sacrifices in comparison to the benefits the Sea Moth offered.

Spyro and Lucas entered the Sea Moth, shifting around a bit to find a somewhat comfortable position, and Lucas piloted them away from the pod, away from the Aurora, and out of the safety of shallow waters.

 _'Just how many of those Reaper Leviathan things are lurking around?'_

Spyro couldn't help but wonder.

 _'What if there's something worse then a Reaper Leviathan out there? Something bigger?'_

As the rolling surface waves grew distant, Spyro attempted to ward off his troubling thoughts and shift to a more positive mindset.

He had so many questions for and about Lucas, no doubt Lucas probably had more then a few for him, but the two monitored their surroundings in a focused silence.

Spyro had been uncertain about his situation for the last few days, but one thing she did know for certain: having nothing but the soft humming of the Sea Moth to listen to was likely to wear down his remaining sanity.

"h...How long have you been here?" he asked, awkwardly trying to break the silence.

"About three weeks, I think anyways..." Lucas answered, taking a minute to think before adding a question of his own, "Sorry, do you measure time in weeks and days where your from?"

"Yeah, there's months and years too." Spyro answered.

"What about hours and minutes? Or seconds?" Lucas asked inquisitively.

Spyro nodded in confirmation, prompting an amazed half-smile from Lucas.

"Incredible. I mean, two totally different species from completely different worlds using an identical system of time management. It's just crazy to think about!" Lucas explained.

Spyro chuckled softly, it **was** crazy to think about. He was still wrapping his head around the concept of entire planets existing outside the Dragon Realm.

At last a sound penetrated the quiet, a familiar sound... a bad sound. Raspy, echoing howls.

Spyro was flung slightly forward as the Sea Moth came to an abrupt dead stop at Lucas' control. He glanced around cautiously and another howl rippled through the water.

Distantly, he spotted the serpentine creature circling around near the surface, directly above them. Vaguely he could make out the creature's eyes, noticing that one heavily scarred.

 _Just my luck..._

"Friend of yours?" Lucas asked, taking note of Spyro's concerned expression.

"That's the one that attacked the pod." Spyro clarified.

"Explains why it's up there. It found you near the surface, so It's searching near the surface." Lucas stated, "Must really hate you to go this far from it's territory."

"Well, I did stab It in the eye." Spyro commented, watching the Reaper circle.

"That would piss me off quite a bit." Lucas stated, turning the Sea Moth away from the surface and piloting downward. "The Kelp Forest should give us cover."

Spyro nodded in agreement. He would gladly take a pod of Stalkers over an angry Reaper Leviathan any day.

As the Sea Moth approached the Forest, Spyro kept a watchful eye out.

The long, thick stalks of kelp waved slowly in the current, occasional leaves brushing over the window like creeping fingers trying to pull them back.

The Reaper's furious howls gradually faded, replaced with sharp hissing as Stalkers drifted about the Kelp.

Few of the alligator-like creatures took notice of the Sea Moth as it passed by, once and a while one of them would snap their jaws threateningly at them.

A sharp bang snapped their attention to the left, a Stalker hissing and retreating from its attack.

Soon the thick vine stalks disappeared, giving way to a vast wall of dark blue unknown.

Just from what Spyro had seen atop the Aurora, this world was massive, and according to the PDA it was all ocean.

There was no shortage of space for creatures of untold sizes to reside, no telling just what was out there, waiting to be found...


End file.
